Inventory management system

ABSTRACT

A method for selecting an optimum time period from an inventory of available time periods, where each time period has a predetermined duration including selected and unselected time portions and an associated cost includes determining the total amount of time in each time period and the total amount of unselected time in each time period. A calculation is made for each time period to generate an inventory utilization index ratio based upon the total amount of time in each time period divided by the total amount of unselected time remaining in each time period. A table is prepared for all time periods in the inventory ranked numerically by the inventory utilization index ratio. A cost range is determined for each of the costs associated with each of the time periods. The table of time periods in the inventory is revised by removing time periods from the inventory which are not within the desired cost range. A time period is selected from the table based upon the ranking of the time period. Information related to the selected time period is stored as containing selected time in the time period inventory.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/110,990,filed Jul. 7, 1998, which was a conversion from and claims priority ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/070,363, filed Jan. 2, 1998.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to management of broadcast commercialinventory, and more particularly to a system and method for optimizingthe sale value of remaining broadcast commercial inventory available forsale to advertisers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Media properties include broadcast stations such as television and radiostations and other media such as cable television systems. The processby which media properties provide a rate quote to an advertiser forcommercial inventory, which inventory is expressed in a units currencymeasured in seconds, is much different from the process used by otherindustries. This difference is due almost exclusively to the type andquality of information pertaining to the value of available inventory,at a particular moment in time, relative to other available inventory.Clearly, the same unit of inventory has a much different value dependingupon when the inventory is required by a customer, and from a broadcaststation's perspective, the likelihood that the particular unit ofinventory can be sold at a later date for at least as much revenue,relative to all other remaining units for sale, and the likelihood thatthose units will be sold at a later date by the broadcast station.

At any particular moment, there are various quantities of inventoryavailable by program and time segment for future sale. At the momentthat a specific customer requests prices and whether inventory isavailable, it is important that inventory optimization take place fromthe station's perspective. However, the broadcast industry has, to agreat extent, been confused as to the meaning of optimization. The termoptimization has been used almost exclusively to define parameters fromthe buyer's perspective, and not the broadcast station. Usually, thebuyer will instruct the station to “take my budget and make it go as faras you can, given the parameters I give you.” The remaining timeinventory and its significance to the station has not been considered,because there has been no meaningful approach to provide inventoryinformation from the broadcast station's perspective to its salespersonnel.

A need has thus arisen for a process to provide information to broadcaststation personnel as to the real value of remaining commercial unitswith respect to each other, at a particular moment in time, given theprobability of sale relative to total time period availabilities. Thereis also a need for an inventory optimization process to determineavailable inventory at a particular moment in time. Such a process mustprovide an opportunity for broadcast station personnel to know instantlywhich broadcast program, days and time segments are necessary to meet acustomer's request based upon the needs of the station in terms ofinventory utilization. Such a process must identify the value ofremaining inventory at the time of the availability request, as theinventory relates to total original capacity for each program or timesegment available for sale at a designated cost efficiency parameter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided forselecting a time period from an inventory of all available time periods,where each time period has a predetermined total capacity includingselected and unselected time portions and an associated cost for eachtime period. The method includes determining the total amount of time ineach time period and the total amount of unselected time in each timeperiod, or an equivalent quantity. A calculation is made for each timeperiod to generate an inventory utilization index (IUI) ratio based uponthe total amount of time in each time period divided by the total amountof unselected time remaining in each time period. A cost range or limitis chosen for the desired time periods, and a table is prepared for timeperiods in the inventory within the cost range or limit rankednumerically by the inventory utilization index ratio. Such a table maybe prepared by first creating a table of all time periods in theinventory ranked numerically by the inventory utilization index ratioand then revising the table by removing time periods from the inventorywhich are not within the desired cost range. In the alternative, thetime periods may be limited to those matching the cost or other customercriteria before the ranked table is created. A time period is selectedfrom the table based upon the ranking of the time period. Other criteriabeing equal, the chosen time period will preferably be the one with thelowest IUI ratio. The selected time periods are stored as containingadditional selected time in the time period inventory.

The method described above may include maintaining the time periodinventory as a machine-readable computer file on a storage medium andrepeating the foregoing steps each time a request for time is received.The time periods may correspond to advertising time associated withmedia property programming. The step of selecting one or more timeperiods from the table may involve simply selecting a time period withthe lowest IUI ratio, or selecting a time period with the lowest IUIratio that satisfies one or more additional criteria for the timeperiod. The step of preparing a table of time periods ranked numericallyby IUI ratio may comprise ranking the time periods from lowest tohighest and ranking time periods having equal inventory utilizationindex ratios in order of greatest remaining capacity.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method is presentedfor selecting a time period corresponding to advertising time associatedwith media property programming from an inventory of available timeperiods. Each time period has a predetermined total capacity, includingselected and unselected time portions, and an associated cost. The stepsof this method include determining a total amount of time in each timeperiod, a total amount of unselected time within the unselected timeportions of each time period, and a cost range or limit applicable tothe time periods. An IUI ratio is calculated for each time period in theinventory based upon the total amount of time in each time perioddivided by the total amount of unselected time portions remaining ineach time period. A table of time periods for time periods in theinventory is generated, ranked numerically by the inventory utilizationindex ratio for each time period and including only time periods withinthe selected cost range or limit. One or more time periods remaining inthe table are selected such that, other criteria being equal, a timeperiod with the lowest IUI is selected, and the selected time period isstored as containing additional selected time in the time periodinventory. The IUI ratios may be calculated for a single station ormedia property or for a group of stations, such as all of the stationsowned by a common business enterprise (e.g., a parent company), or asubgroup of stations owned by a common enterprise.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a system is providedfor selecting a time period from an inventory of available time periods,where each time period has a predetermined duration, including selectedand unselected time portions and an associated cost. Such a system maycomprise a computer with conventional peripheral devices including adata storage medium for storing a data base containing a total amount oftime in each time period and a total amount of unselected time withinthe unselected time portions of each time period, as well as relatedinformation such as the identity of the purchaser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the invention and for furtheradvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionof preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the present method;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a hardware system illustrating the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of amulti-station system according to the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of amulti-station system according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present method optimizes remaining commercial inventory availablefor sale to an advertiser, thus improving overall broadcast station'srevenues. It calculates and uses an index which ranks and optimizes theselection of commercial programs or time periods for a broadcastproperty, such as, for example, television, radio or a cable system. Theranking is based upon remaining availability of commercial inventorygiven original capacity, and upon a user-defined parameter of prevailingrate, cost per thousand, or cost per point of the specific broadcastprogram or time period. The invention enables sales personnel to know,learn, access, then optimize those programs available for sale to anadvertiser while developing an advertising campaign on behalf of thecustomer that meets the customer's needs. An important aspect of theinvention is the ability to determine the remaining commercialavailability as it relates to original total capacity of a program or atime period for sale at an advertiser's defined cost parameter. As usedherein, the term “time period” will refer to a commercial unit orminutes available for sale associated with a program, such as, forexample, a television program. For TV, a sample time period would beThursday night 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM, Program Name Seinfeld. For radio, atypical time period would be Monday through Friday, 6 AM-10 AM, calledMorning Drive. On cable, CNN has a time period from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PMnamed World News Today.

Referring to FIG. 1, at step 10 a determination is made as to the totalnumber of time periods available for sale for each program or timeperiod A1, A2, . . . AN. A1 is the total number of commercial units orminutes available for sale for a program or time period broadcast 1, andAN is the last program or time period available for sale. Associatedwith each time period are cost parameters established by the station.

At step 12, a determination is made as to the remaining time available,B1, B2 . . . BN within each time period (A1 . . . AN). Thisdetermination is made for the remaining commercial units or minutesavailable for sale by program or time period at any particular moment intime. B1 is the remaining commercial units or minutes within the timeperiod by program or time period 1. BN is the remaining commercial unitsor minutes for sale by program or time for the last program or timeperiod available for sale.

At step 14, an inventory utilization index (IUI) in accordance with theinvention is calculated for each time period. The index C1, C2 . . . CNrepresents a ratio A/B between the total number of commercial units orminutes available for sale by program or time period (A) and theremaining commercial units or minutes for sale by program or time period(B). C1 represents the index for time period 1, and CN represents theindex for the last program or time period available for sale.

At step 16, the indices C1 . . . CN are ranked, such as, for example,from the minimum value of C to the highest value of C, where the minimumvalue of C represents a more desirable program for time availability,i.e., the optimum time period or program. In the table of step 16, inthe event IUI ratios for two or more time periods are tied, the timeperiods are ranked in order of greatest remaining capacity, that is, thetime period having the greatest value of A is ranked highest. As a thirdtier criterion, in the event both C and A are the same, the indices maybe ranked in order of cost, with the program having the highest (orlowest) cost ranked highest.

If a time period has no time remaining, meaning that the value of B iszero, the time period A is moved to the bottom of the table. A timeperiod having no available time is still maintained in the table becausethe station may overbook certain time periods, and a particular customermay still desire to select such a time period. If the value of C is 1,meaning that no time for the particular time period has been sold, therank of this time period will be at the top of the table.

For TV prime shows (those programs which run between the local newsbroadcasts, usually after 7:00 PM but before 10:00 PM U.S. CentralTime), 3 to 4 total commercial minutes are available, which translate to6 to 8 commercial units. For radio, most stations will run between 8 to12 minutes/units per hour, so for a day period like Morning Drive (6AM-10 AM), 32 to 48 total minutes would be available. If the day periodis measured for 5 days, e.g., Monday through Friday, then 160-250 totalminutes or units would be the total. Cable television usually has 4 to 8local insertion minutes per hour.

When almost all time for a program or time period A has been sold, Cusually approaches a value in the range of about 30 to 60. This reflectsthe ratio (A/D) between the total number of commercial units or minutesavailable for sale by program or time period (A) and the smallestsalable unit or slot (D) of time within that time period. Thus, where Ais 10 minutes and the smallest salable time increment or time slot (D)is 10 seconds or 0.17 minute, the ratio (A/D) is 59. At step 18,customer-specified cost parameters are selected. These parameters may bedetermined based upon the prevailing rate of the particular broadcastprogram, the rate per thousand viewers or radio listeners, or cost perrating point of the television or radio program. These costs may beassociated with each time period A at step 10, or after the table ofstep 16 is created. Cost parameters can also be determined utilizing theMaxagrid™ software created by Maxagrid International, Inc. of Dallas,Tex. for forecasting rates for future programming. The results of theseforecasts can be utilized for the selection of cost parameters at step18.

At step 20, the table of indices for all time periods generated at step16 is revised based upon the cost parameters selected at step 18. Theprograms associated with time periods within the table and notconsistent with the cost parameters of the customer are removed from thetable. Typically, the table is updated to include only those programswithin a predetermined range, such as plus or minus 10%, of the cost perpoint or the rate requested by the customer.

At step 22, time periods are then selected from the table having thelowest IUI ratio within the desired cost range or upper limit. Othercriteria may be applied, either by the user or as part of a softwareprogram written to implement the method. For example, a user may desireto further limit the table to time periods associated with a particularprogram type, such as news or sports. In such a case, the softwarereferences a predetermined, stored program type parameter for eachprogram or time period and limits table entries to the specified programtype or types. If the customer has expressed a desire for a specifiedmix of program types, the user can search the list manually to findprograms that correspond to the customer's choice and make selections onthe screen, or the software can regenerate the table several times insuccession, applying a different program type parameter each time usingthe same or different cost range parameter. Further additionalparameters may be referenced so that entries in the list are limitedeven more specifically, for example, by day of the week. The method ofthe invention could, for example, display a table of programs in IUIorder within a specified cost range, for news programs only, and forprograms on Sundays only.

When a time period is selected, the IUI ratio for that time period isrecalculated by subtracting the amount of time in the selected timeslot(s) from the remaining time available (B). The program mayoptionally track availability of individual time slots within each timeperiod, or these may remain unspecified. In the former case, one or moretime slots within the selected time period may be designated asunavailable. The data relating to the sale, including the identity ofthe purchaser, the time period selected and the amount of time selected,are saved to the database for eventual export to a traffic billingsystem that invoices the customer for the advertising time purchase andkeeps corresponding accounting records. At step 24, all of the foregoingdata is stored on a storage medium, such as a magnetic disk, anddisplayed to station personnel on a screen for confirmation.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 30 in accordance with the invention. System30 for carrying out the method previously described includes a computer32 having a processor for performing the calculations of computationalsteps and memory for loading software to carry out and store the resultsof each step. A display device 34 such as a monitor or printer is usedto display the time period table 35 to the user. An input device 36 suchas a keyboard permits entry of user selections, particularly forselecting time periods from the table. A permanent, read-write storagemedium such as a hard drive 38 stores the database of available timeslots between sessions. In this manner, the database of time slots maybe intermittently updated as requests for advertising are received fromcustomers, and each successive request is optimized based on the timeleft available from all previous requests. Cost per time period ispreferably updated periodically or after each transaction using the costparameter software. The invention thus optimizes remaining commercialinventory available for sale to a customer, thus improving overall mediaproperty station revenues.

Referring to FIG. 3, according to a further aspect of the invention, theIUI rankings from the table may be generated for multiple stationsforming part of a single enterprise. This can be managed, for example,by providing each station 51 with access to a network 52 such as theInternet, a local area network or a wide area network that maintains amaster database 53 of time sales data for all member stations. A single,multi-station yield management system 54 may, for example, permitselection by an individual station 51A, stations within one or morepredetermined markets or geographic regions defined by a subgroup 56 ofstations 51, or all stations 51 within the enterprise.

The following is a sample IUI table for a multi-station enterprise:

Station/Daypart IUI Rank KAAA-FM 10a-3p M-F 1 KAAA-FM 6a-10a Sat 2KBBB-FM 6a-10a M-F 3 KCCC-FM 3p-8p M-F 4 KBBB-FM 10a-3p M-F 5 KDDD-FM3p-8p M-F 6 KBBB-FM 10a-3p Sat 7 KCCC-FM 10a-3p Sun 8 KDDD-FM 6a-10a M-F9 KAAA-FM 10a-9p Sun 10

In this embodiment, the table includes identification of both the timeslot and the originating station, ranked competitively by IUI, and thecolumn for IUI rank lists the selected slots in ranked order, as shown,or by actual IUI. The table may further select for stations of aparticular type or media format within the enterprise, such as newsstations, country and western stations, religious stations, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 4, a multi-station system may also be structured as anumber of stand alone yield management systems 62 and databases 63, onefor each station 51, which communicate with a central server 64 througha network 52 to maintain a master database 66. Master database 66mirrors the contents of each of the individual databases 63 and isupdated either periodically or whenever a database 63 is updated. When arequest for time is received at station 51 A that requires access totime data from other stations 51, system 62A receives this data fromdatabase 66 through network 52. In the event of network failure, standalone yield management systems 62 can continue functioning to sell timefor each respective station 51. Real time updating of master database 66is desirable to prevent potential errors due to a time lag between achange in a local database 63A indicating a sale and updating of masterdatabase 66, which will be accessed by other yield management systems 62seeking to list, and possibly sell, a time slot of a station 51A whichcorresponds to database 63A.

Whereas the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes andmodifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art and it isintended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within thescope of the appended claims. For example, alternative computationalmethods for reaching the end results described above are equivalentswithin the scope of the invention. The invention is not limited to timemanagement and may be applied to other types of inventories with similarcharacteristics, for example, workload management wherein it is desiredto assign a new project of a given size or duration to one of severalindividuals or groups having varying capacity, or advertising space innewspapers. Similarly, the multi-station systems according to theinvention may create reports or tables using criteria other than the IUIratio. These and other alternatives are within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for selecting oneor more of an inventory of available time periods, each time period orportion thereof having a cost associated therewith, comprising the stepsof: (a) determining a total amount of time in each time period; (b)determining a total amount of unselected time remaining in each timeperiod; (c) calculating an inventory utilization index ratio for eachtime period as the total amount of time in each time period divided bytotal amount of unselected time remaining in each time period; (d)preparing a table of time periods ranked numerically by the inventoryutilization index ratios; (e) determining a cost range or limitapplicable to the time periods; (f) limiting the table to time periodswhich are within the specified cost range or limit; (g) selecting one ormore time periods from the table; and (h) storing the selected timeperiods as containing additional selected time in the time periodinventory.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (h) comprisesmaintaining the time period inventory as a machine-readable computerfile on a storage medium.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingrepeating steps (a) to (h) each time a request for time is received. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the time periods correspond toadvertising time associated with media property programming.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein step (g) further comprises selecting a timeperiod with the lowest inventory utilization index ratio.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein the table includes an identifier of the mediaproperty offering each ranked time period, and time and date informationfor each ranked time period.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tablecomprises a computer-generated video display.
 8. The method of claim 4,wherein the time periods correspond to advertising time associated witha single media property.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein the timeperiods correspond to advertising time associated with multiple mediaproperties forming part of a common enterprise.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein step (g) further comprises selecting a time period with thelowest inventory utilization index ratio and which satisfies one or moreadditional criteria for the time period.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein step (d) further comprises ranking the time periods from lowestto highest.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein step (d) furthercomprises ranking time periods having equal inventory utilization indexratios in order of greatest remaining capacity.
 13. Acomputer-implemented method for selecting a time period corresponding toadvertising time associated with media property programming from aninventory of available time periods, where each time period has apredetermined total capacity, including selected and unselected timeportions, and an associated cost, comprising the steps of: determining atotal amount of time in each time period; determining a total amount ofunselected time within the unselected time portions of each time period;determining a cost range or limit applicable to the time periods;calculating an inventory utilization index ratio for each time period inthe inventory based upon the total amount of time in each time perioddivided by the total amount of unselected time portions remaining ineach time period; generating a table of time periods for time periods inthe inventory, ranked numerically by the inventory utilization indexratio for each time period and including only time periods within theselected cost range or limit; selecting one or more time periodsremaining in the table of time periods such that, other criteria beingequal, a time period with the lowest inventory utilization ratio isselected; and storing the selected time periods as containing additionalselected time in the time period inventory.
 14. A computer-implementedsystem for selecting one or more of an inventory of available timeperiods, each time period or portion thereof having a cost associatedtherewith, comprising: (a) means for determining a total amount of timein each time period; (b) means for determining a total amount ofunselected time remaining in each time period; (c) means for calculatingan inventory utilization index ratio for each time period as the totalamount of time in each time period divided by total amount of unselectedtime remaining in each time period; (d) means for preparing a table oftime periods ranked numerically by the inventory utilization indexratios; (e) means for determining a cost range or limit applicable tothe time periods; (f) means for limiting the table to time periods whichare within the specified cost range or limit; (g) means for selectingone or more time periods from the table; and (h) means for storing theselected time periods as containing additional selected time in the timeperiod inventory.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the storing meanscomprises a computer file storage medium.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the means (a) to (g) further comprises a software program whichperforms the recited functions.